--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My association with the Southern…" description: "\"My association with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is sort of predated by an effort that we were a part of here in New York City regardin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2b/ella-baker-10989_association_my-association-with-the-southern-christi_1054645.jpg" --- # My association with the Southern Christian Leadership… ![“My association with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is sort of predated by an effort that we were a part of here in New York City regarding the reaction to this 1954 Supreme Court [Brown v Board of Education] decision.” quote by Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2b/ella-baker-10989_association_my-association-with-the-southern-christi_1054645.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2b/ella-baker-10989_association_my-association-with-the-southern-christi_1054645.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2b/ella-baker-10989_association_my-association-with-the-southern-christi_1054645.jpg) > “My association with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is sort of predated by an effort that we were a part of here in New York City regarding the reaction to this 1954 Supreme Court \[Brown v Board of Education\] decision.” [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She describes early involvement in civil‑rights activism in New York, predating her formal role with the SCLC, highlighting grassroots organization after Brown v. Board. **In simple terms:** Early activism in New York before joining SCLC, responding to school desegregation. Key Takeaway Recognize local roots of national movements. Themes civil rights grassroots leadership history education Mood reflective determined Type historical inspirational When to use this quote - early career - civil‑rights strategy - public speaking Key Concepts Community organizing legal change racial equality Questions to Reflect On - How did New York activism shape national civil‑rights tactics? - What challenges did early organizers face after Brown? A Different Perspective Local efforts can be overlooked in broader narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Association](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/association/) [Board of education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/board-of-education/) [Boards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boards/) [Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown/) [Brown V Board Of Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown-v-board-of-education/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-leadership/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Conferences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conferences/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Leadership Conference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership-conference-2542976/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [New york city](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york-city/) [Predated Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predated-effort-2542973/) [Reaction 1954](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reaction-1954-2542975/) [Reactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reactions/) [Southern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/southern/) [Southern Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/southern-christian-2542974/) [Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supreme/) [Supreme court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supreme-court/) [York City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york-city/) ## Related quotes > [ I don't know, except that the only simple answer, I think, is that SCLC \[Southern Christian Leadership Conference\] had never really developed an organizing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/i-don-t-know-except-that-the-only-simple-answer-i-think-is-that-sclc/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [The working-class black Southern Christian culture I come from still nurtures me, and I mean directly, daily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/the-working-class-black-southern-christian-culture-i-come-from-still/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [I did grow up in a southern Christian background, and I have friends from all walks of life, but I will never forget from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-earhardt/i-did-grow-up-in-a-southern-christian-background-and-i-have-friends/) [Ainsley Earhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-earhardt/) > [“American DEWAR FAMILY Cameron Dewar Ursula “Beep” Dewar, his sister Woody Dewar, his father Bella Dewar, his mother PESHKOV-JAKES FAMILY George Jakes Jacky Jakes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/american-dewar-family-cameron-dewar-ursula-beep-dewar-his-sister/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [Most Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/most-christian-leadership-is-exercised-by-people-who-do-not-know-how/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [“Christian leadership should include integrity, honesty, compassion, diplomacy, perception, common sense, and forgiveness. Serving as a Christian leader involves servant leadership, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-s-haraburda/christian-leadership-should-include-integrity-honesty-compassion/) [Scott S. Haraburda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-s-haraburda/) > [“The lure of power can separate the most resolute of Christians from the true nature of Christian leadership, which is service to others. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-colson/the-lure-of-power-can-separate-the-most-resolute-of-christians-from/) [Charles W. Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-colson/) > [The beginning and the end of all Christian leadership is to give your life for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-beginning-and-the-end-of-all-christian-leadership-is-to-give-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In this way, the Gospel of Mary holds up Mary as a model for Christian leadership based on spiritual maturity and prophetic insight. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-sugirtharajah/in-this-way-the-gospel-of-mary-holds-up-mary-as-a-model-for-christian/) [R.S. Sugirtharajah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-sugirtharajah/) > [“It is not enough for the priests and ministers of the future to be moral people, well trained, eager to help their fellow humans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/it-is-not-enough-for-the-priests-and-ministers-of-the-future-to-be/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“Jesus served as the supreme example of good Christian leadership through servant-hood, humility, taking risks, sharing responsibilities with others, and building a team. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-s-haraburda/jesus-served-as-the-supreme-example-of-good-christian-leadership/) [Scott S. Haraburda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-s-haraburda/) > [Our courts' decisions do not permeate the public consciousness - we have no equivalent of the Brown v Board of Education ruling which outlawed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/our-courts-decisions-do-not-permeate-the-public-consciousness-we-have/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) > [The hardest problems of all in law enforcement are those involving a conflict of law and local customs. History has recorded many occasions when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/the-hardest-problems-of-all-in-law-enforcement-are-those-involving-a/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [Brown v. Board of Education was arguably the most important decision of the Supreme Court in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-james/brown-v-board-of-education-was-arguably-the-most-important-decision/) [Letitia James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-james/) > [There was never a time you could get the majority of people in Alabama or Mississippi, or even southern Delaware, to vote to end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/there-was-never-a-time-you-could-get-the-majority-of-people-in/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) ## More by Ella Baker > [In order to see where we are going, we not only must remember where we have been, but we must understand where we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/in-order-to-see-where-we-are-going-we-not-only-must-remember-where-we/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [The major job was getting people to understand that they had something within their power that they could use, and it could only be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/the-major-job-was-getting-people-to-understand-that-they-had/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [After the '57 initial meeting - I was up this way working, not as a staff person - there became the need for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/after-the-57-initial-meeting-i-was-up-this-way-working-not-as-a-staff/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [My theory is, strong people don't need strong leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/my-theory-is-strong-people-don-t-need-strong-leaders/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [Oppressed people, whatever their level of formal education, have the ability to understand and interpret the world around them, to see the world for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/oppressed-people-whatever-their-level-of-formal-education-have-the/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [I went to what is known as, and was at that time, too, Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In fact, because of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/i-went-to-what-is-known-as-and-was-at-that-time-too-shaw-university/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [Strong people don't need strong leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/strong-people-don-t-need-strong-leaders/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [His name was Michael R. Ross. I've never known what the "R" was for. He died, however, before I was 7. But he and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/his-name-was-michael-r-ross-i-ve-never-known-what-the-r-was-for-he/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [I guess the best way to describe that would be to connect with the fact that I came out of college just before the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/i-guess-the-best-way-to-describe-that-would-be-to-connect-with-the/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [I had been friendly with people who were in the Communist party and all the rest of the Left forces, which were oriented in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/i-had-been-friendly-with-people-who-were-in-the-communist-party-and/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [ I didn't have any close relationship with him because, although \[William Edward Burghardt\] DuBois may not have been as egocentric - I don't know… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/i-didn-t-have-any-close-relationship-with-him-because-although/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [ \[Walter White\] was also one of the best lobbyist of the period. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/walter-white-was-also-one-of-the-best-lobbyist-of-the-period/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [I think, to be honest, sort of emanated from the initial work of somebody else instead of SCLC. If you take Albany; I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/i-think-to-be-honest-sort-of-emanated-from-the-initial-work-of/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/we-who-believe-in-freedom-cannot-rest-until-it-comes/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [I didn't break the rules, but I challenged the rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/i-didn-t-break-the-rules-but-i-challenged-the-rules/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) [Explore all 62 Ella Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) ## More Association quotes > [If you are poor, shun association with him who measures men with the yardstick of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/if-you-are-poor-shun-association-with-him-who-measures-men-with-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [For rich children, it'd be very easy and convenient never to take any steps to build an identity outside of your association with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-johnson/for-rich-children-it-d-be-very-easy-and-convenient-never-to-take-any/) [Jamie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-johnson/) > [I am a member of that small, little group that covers - I'm a member of the White House correspondents association. I go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-am-a-member-of-that-small-little-group-that-covers-i-m-a-member-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [While opponents label (Howard) Dean a throwback liberal, The New York Times recently noted that as governor, Dean cut income taxes, reformed welfare and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/while-opponents-label-howard-dean-a-throwback-liberal-the-new-york/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [The feedback that I get from my association with Gomez is heartwarming. It is very difficult for me to take anything but a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-astin/the-feedback-that-i-get-from-my-association-with-gomez-is/) [John Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-astin/) > [Public and private funds have been thrown around like confetti at a country fair, to close up and destroy clinics, hospitals, and scientific research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-fitzgerald/public-and-private-funds-have-been-thrown-around-like-confetti-at-a/) [Benedict Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-fitzgerald/) > [ \[T\]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - what we can call political… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/t-here-are-at-bottom-basically-two-ways-to-order-social-affairs/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/whatever-withdraws-us-from-the-power-of-our-senses-whatever-makes-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The Stroke Association has produced leaflets that set out clearly the health risks associated with stroke that African-Caribbean people face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linford-christie/the-stroke-association-has-produced-leaflets-that-set-out-clearly-the/) [Linford Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linford-christie/) > [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/) [M. 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Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Marriage is an association of two persons for the purpose of making one the beneficiary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/marriage-is-an-association-of-two-persons-for-the-purpose-of-making/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) [Browse all 863 Association quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/association/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My association with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is sort of predated by an effort that we were a part of here in New York City regarding the reaction to this 1954 Supreme Court [Brown v Board of Education] decision.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ella Baker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/my-association-with-the-southern-christian-leadership-conference-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Association" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/my-association-with-the-southern-christian-leadership-conference-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2b/ella-baker-10989_association_my-association-with-the-southern-christi_1054645.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2b/ella-baker-10989_association_my-association-with-the-southern-christi_1054645.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2b/ella-baker-10989_association_my-association-with-the-southern-christi_1054645.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My association with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is sort of predated by an effort that we…” — Ella Baker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ella Baker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My association with the Southern Christian...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/my-association-with-the-southern-christian-leadership-conference-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/my-association-with-the-southern-christian-leadership-conference-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```